Kevin Rosser has a best friend who\u2019s at his side at all times.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is Oreo, the greatest dog in the world,\u201d he said, reaching down to the floor. \u201cShe goes with me to school every day and she\u2019s just always with me and adorable as heck.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Hedgcoxe Elementary School 5th grader navigates a few medical conditions, including high-functioning autism and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), a condition causing dizzy spells and fainting, and not often seen in boys, according to his mom, Angelina Rosser.<\/p>\n
The Rossers have been on a wait list for a service dog to respond to any emergencies and help Kevin live a more independent life.<\/p>\n
The good news came last February from a Florida organization that trains service dogs.<\/p>\n
The now 22-month-old Great Dane was available, but at a hefty cost.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat most people don\u2019t know is health insurance helps you pay all the medical bills, but service dogs are not included in that, and the price tag for Oreo was $14,000, and I said: well that\u2019s cute,\u201d she said with a chuckle. <\/p>\n
The price was simply too much for the family already dealing with medical bills.<\/p>\n
The Rossers reluctantly allowed a family friend to start an online fundraiser, unsure the public would be willing to help cover the cost of a service animal.<\/p>\n
The family was elated with the outpouring of support from Hedgcoxe families, their daughter\u2019s volleyball team, their church family, and companies like Raising Cane’s. <\/p>\n
Many donations were less than $200, but added up quickly.<\/p>\n
Rosser says they\u2019ve heard from old friends they haven\u2019t heard from in ten years, and even had people some offer dog food instead. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been a huge blessing,\u201d said Rosser. \u201cWe would not have been able to provide, this dog would not be sitting here without the community, because we just did not have the extra money to purchase the dog.\u201d<\/p>\n
Funding secured, the family made the trek to Florida to pick up the black and white pup and renamed her: Oreo.<\/p>\n
Rosser says Plano ISD has worked well with the family, ensuring the 5th grader receives the proper accommodation and that other students understand and abide by important boundaries pertaining to the service animal, like: do not pet, do not speak to the dog and do not have direct eye contact with her.<\/p>\n
The family is already working with the district as Kevin prepares for middle school next year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s amazing to watch children as young as kindergarten understand the boundary in that she\u2019s a medical device,\u201d said mom.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been one month since Oreo joined their family and she\u2019s already jumped into action when Kevin\u2019s blood pressure spiked during his sleep.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe dog jumped up on him and held him down with her paws until we responded,\u201d said Rosser. \u201cThere was no moving her, it was like dead weight.\u201d <\/p>\n
When asked why this specific giant breed, not frequently seen in the role, was selected for her child, Rosser explains it was very much done on purpose.<\/p>\n
The selection process considers a child\u2019s anticipated height and build. Kevin and his gentle giant Oreo are expected to grow big and tall. Together.<\/p>\n
Kevin, she says, understands he is responsible for Oreo\u2019s every need during school, including bathroom breaks.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a lot of responsibility, and I will say we\u2019ve seen a confidence change that he feels he can do things he\u2019ll say: ‘Mom, I\u2019ve got this,\u201d she said with a smile.<\/p>\n
Leaning over to pet his best bud, Kevin says: \u201cWell, it\u2019s my dog. It\u2019s my fluffy IV.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kevin Rosser has a best friend who\u2019s at his side at all times. \u201cThis is Oreo, the greatest…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253379,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[160,162,161,5262],"class_list":{"0":"post-253378","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-plano","8":"tag-plano","9":"tag-plano-headlines","10":"tag-plano-news","11":"tag-something-good"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253378"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253378\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}